Flashes of the Future
by Wackysocks
Summary: Due to popular demand! Companion piece to Glimpses of the Future, only from James' point of view! What does James see when he takes potion? JL fanfic, two parts.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- **I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of the characters; all are the explicit property of J.K. Rowlings.

_Flashes of the Future_

**Chapter 1**

James slumped down into his chair a little more. The hinges of the door to their Potions classroom in the dungeon squeaked over and over again as students came into the classroom.

"Remus," said Peter a little wistfully, "I still don't understand this assignment."

Remus looked over at the paper in Peter's outstretched hand and started explaining it to him. Any average person would have thought that Remus was being the wonderfully kind person he always was, but James noticed the slight pause, the slight clench of his jaw muscles before he answered Peter. It wasn't Remus' fault that Peter asked him for help all the time, and even though he had the patience of a saint, it sometimes ran low.

"Okay, class," said Professor Slughorn, "Thanks to Mr. Black's excellent question on time-traveling with Potions yesterday," – Sirius smirked – "I have done a little extra research and have found a potion that, in a way, can make you travel through time."

James listened somewhat interestedly. Like there really was a potion to cause time travel. Yeah right.

"Its name is _Video Futurum_," continued Professor Slughorn. "Drinking it will give the drinker a glimpse into four of their possible future lives. Quite an eye-opener for some people, I've read."

As the class laughed at Professor Slughorn's pun, James' interest was piqued.

"Please sir, how exactly does it work? I mean, what does it do to you?"

That would be Alice Denim, Lily's best friend.

Lily.

Professor Slughorn's answer was immediately lost to James as images of Lily began to come to his mind – the way her auburn hair caught the light when she swung her hair over her shoulders, the way her eyes lit up when she laughed . . .

James shook his head a little bit and banished the thoughts from his mind. He _had_ to stop thinking about her! If he was ever going to be even her friend, he had to really and truly be her friend. Friends didn't think about their friends like that. Or at least, he didn't think they did.

" . . . not correctly made, and it is veryfinicky, the drinker could be trapped and never wake. They could also go insane. The drinker also must be perfectly healthy as the potion does extract some sort of toll on the body. I am proud to say that I have managed to make a perfectly correct batch." Professor Slughorn looked rather smug as he finished speaking.

"Now that I have so explicitly explained everything, may I have two volunteers?"

Now James was truly interested. This would be interesting to watch. _I wonder if the drinker has nightmares or talks in their sleep_, he wondered.

Remus looked over at him. "I think you should do it, James. Do some actual participation in a class."

James scoffed at him and Remus smirked back. Unfortunately for James, however, Sirius had heard.

"Come on, Prongs, do it!" he said excitedly. James looked at him.

"Yeah, do it!" said some Ravenclaw guy. Another guy said something similar as soon as the first one had started speaking.

James tuned out the other comments as he thought. _Maybe I should do it. It would be interesting, I suppose, to see what my future would be like._

He grimaced. On second thought, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what would happen, just for the sake of that little hope he still held . . .

"Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Slughorn. James looked at him, then got up out of his seat, resigned. If his future wasn't going to be how he wanted, he might as well know now so he could just get over it and move on while he was still young.

"Now how about a young lady?" asked Professor Slughorn, looking at the girls.

Some kid spoke up. "I think Lily should do it so both Heads would be doing it together."

Lily's face was priceless – she had definitely not been expecting that. James watched her as a she tried to protest. There was already several inches of notes on her desk. She had probably been planning on taking plenty more while the volunteers were asleep. _You're not going to do it, are you_, James thought, looking at her. Lily's green eyes met his and held. _You're going to play it safe and just watch while I probably make a fool out of myself up here talking in my sleep about something stupid that'll happen to me later in life . . . _

"Alright fine," Lily grumbled, getting up. James was surprised, but didn't show it. He honestly thought that she was going to refuse. As she joined him in the front of the class, he said nothing to her and turned his attention to Professor Slughorn.

"Marvelous, marvelous!" said Professor Slughorn excitedly. With a flick of his wand, he conjured two small cots, and another flick made two goblets appear next to the cauldron on his desk. James sat down on one of the cots. Professor Slughorn poured some of the potion into each goblet and gave one to each of them. James immediately downed the potion without trying to think about it too much. It tasted just like water. Had he not known what he was drinking, he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

"What's it look like, Lily?" someone asked. "It's like water with thick white fog in it," James heard her reply. He handed his empty goblet to Professor Slughorn, who put it back on his desk.

"What's it taste like, Prongs?" asked Sirius.

"Like water, Padfoot," he replied.

"Lie down now, Mr. Potter; you'll fall asleep in a couple minutes. Drink up, Miss Evans," said Professor Slughorn briskly.

James lay down on his cot. For a moment or two, he felt nothing. Then, just a faint feeling of drowsiness. And again, only stronger. And then again, even stronger. James' eyes began to droop.

"Class, please take notes. You may come up and observe the potion if you wish. A one-foot essay will be due on Tuesday." The class groaned. James heard it all as if through a tunnel. He was _so _tired . . .

He was sitting at a very large desk, signing a form. He finished signing his name and looked up. The room was larger than a normal office. File cabinets lined one wall, and there were four perches for owls in the corner. He looked down at the form he had just signed and his eyes widened.

__

_**James Potter**_

_Minister of Magic, Order of Merlin, 2nd Class_

_What's the Order of Merlin for?_ he thought distractedly. An owl came soaring into the room, deposited a note on his desk, and flapped back out. He picked up the note.

_Mr. Potter, _

_Schedule for the afternoon: Trial, 2:00. Conference meeting with Aurors, 4:30. Press meeting, 5:45. _

_The arrest warrants for the Meeley brothers must be signed and turned in by no later than 6:00 tonight. _

_-Lisa_

_Who's Lisa?_ he wondered. Then the answer came to his mind. _She's my secretary_, he thought. _Of course she is_. He looked down at the form again. It was a death warrant, calling for the immediate capture of a certain Delbert Meeley, with permission to kill if he refused to come with the Aurors peacefully.

Another owl came soaring into his office, followed by one that he recognized as his own. The first owl dropped a note on his desk and left. He picked it up and read it. It was a report about . . . something. James looked up at his desk. It was covered with papers like this – reports, forms, notes – there was no end to the things that covered his desk. And yet, this did not seem to bother him. He bent down and continued to fill out the forms he had been filling out, then paused again to look around his office.

There was a complete lack of anything personal there, only certificates and forms. Where were the personal touches? Was he married? He looked down at his left hand. No ring. Not married, then. Something in his mind pressed him to get back to work, which he did.

And yet . . . he couldn't help feeling horrible about something. But what? Another owl swooped into drop yet another note on his desk.

Then the thought hit him – was this all he did all day, every day? Did he do anything besides meetings, forms, and reports? He got up out of his chair, dodged another owl, and walked out of his office. The young blonde woman at a desk outside his door looked up?

"When do I go home for the day?" he asked her.

She looked at him a little strangely, glanced at a schedule on her desk, and said, "Nine o'clock."

James stared at her. "When do I come in?"

She gave him an even stranger look, then said, "Six."

James strode back into his office and ran his hands through his hair. _What am I doing?_ he asked himself distractedly. _Am I some kind of machine that only lives to work?_

His throat felt tight, and he looked down at himself to see a navy blue tie that perfectly matched his dress shirt. _Oh my gosh, I'm wearing a freaking __tie__ . . . _

His phone rang. James looked at it. An owl swooped in, depositing another note on the growing pile on his desk. The phone rang again. Oh, how he didn't want to answer that and find out that there was another meeting to go to. He just couldn't do it, he couldn't . . .

The room faded.

He was on a broom. He was flying. He had the Quaffle!

James reacted instinctively, ducking the Bludger soaring at his head, swooping around a Chaser from the other team, and pitched the Quaffle at the far ring to send it sailing through the hoops. The crowd cheered, and he soared around the stadium, pumping his fist in the air.

As his face smiled for the crown, his mind dashed wildly. _What am I doing here? What's happening?_

One second later, his mind answered those questions for him. _I am James Potter, the star Chaser on the Manchester Suns. We are beating the Liverpool Sailers now, thanks to my goal._

The Seeker on his team dove, and two seconds later, thrust his arm over his head, the winged, glittering Snitch clutched tightly in his fist.

James soared down to the Quidditch field, clapping his teammates on the back as the announcer yelled "What a catch! What a dive! The Suns have done it again!"

Almost immediately, James and his team were barraged by an onslaught of flashing lights which blinded him. He stared blankly before he remembered that they were cameras and moved on with his team, smiling and waving for a couple of them. In the locker room, they only had time to put away their brooms and have a quick chat with their captain before they returned to the pitch for interviews.

James spoke to three different reporters for five minutes each, then moved on to the edge of the stands to sign books, banners, and Quaffles for fans. There seemed to be an endless number of items that people wanted his signature on. _This is cool! _thought James. _I'm playing Quidditch for a premier team, doing something I love . . . I could live like this_!

"James Potter! Marry me!" shrieked a brunette girl who looked like she was too starstruck to ever be allowed out of the house. Next to her, a little boy was jumping up and down, yelling and screaming, with a t-shirt that read _Nothing's hotter than Potter!_and featured James flying with the Quaffle.

James was mildly amused. He signed for about two minutes, then returned to the lockers to shower and change. When he finally got back to his apartment, it was 11:00.

The apartment was dark. The only thing that he could hear now, as opposed to earlier when all he really heard was general noise, was the sounds of the city outside. He flicked on the lights.

The lights illuminated a well-furnished living room and kitchen. He certainly hadn't spared any expense to make his apartment look nice. Tired, James went straight to his room and got in bed.

As he lay there, he could hardly help feeling alone. The game had been exhilarating. Fun. The interviews were alright. The fans were amusing. But now? When he wanted to relax and be calm?

He was completely alone. There was no one here to talk to. He couldn't help but think that there might have been someone lying next to him. If only he hadn't made that decision all those years ago!

_What decision?_

Oh, it didn't matter now. His life was his life. There was nothing to be upset about.

Except that he was so _alone_ . . .

The room faded.

He was opening the door to his house. As soon as he closed the door, two little boys came rushing at him, yelling, "Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey guys!" James said, hugging them. Edward, the younger one, started prattling on about some mission his army men were on at the moment, while Nate tried to talk over him about something that James couldn't quite hear.

James turned to set down his briefcase, and when he turned back around, there was his wife, leaning against the wall next to the kitchen. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, from which wisps of hair were escaping. The look on her face was not particularly welcoming, but neither was it hostile. Then it hit him who she was.

Alice Denim.

Some of the shock he felt in his mind must have filtered down to his face, because the corners of her mouth tightened and she looked mad.

"Hi," James said somewhat weakly. _Alice Denim is my wife? What? How? She's Lily's best friend . . . _

Lily was probably not who he should be thinking about if he was married to Alice.

Alice just turned away from him and walked into the kitchen. The boys had gone back to whatever game they had been playing in the living room, so James followed her into the kitchen.

Alice was cooking dinner. Ground beef was frying in a pan, and a knife was busily chopping onions on a cutting board. Alice was leaning against the counter, watching the knife, a stony expression on her face. As soon as James entered the kitchen, she said, "I thought you said you weren't going to judge me anymore."

James was completely bewildered. "What?" he asked.

At that, Alice looked at him, and he noticed that she wasn't just mad. She was furious.

"What? What? Is that all you can say? Have you not even been _listening_ to me all this week? You even told me yourself that you wouldn't judge me anymore and the first thing you do is look at me like I'm not good enough for you!"

She jabbed her wand at the knife, which started washing itself in the sink, then put down her wand and walked over to stand in front of him.

"You're an insensitive hypocrite, James," she hissed. "You _told _me you would quit being such an _asshole_ and start acting like a man! Have you already forgotten, like you do everything else about me?"

At this, James got mad. "I have not forgotten everything about you!" he retorted. "And don't you dare call me a hypocrite! I am not insensitive. Why would I marry you if I didn't love you?"

Alice scoffed at him and turned away. "Well I dunno, I'm hot?"

"Oh, shut up!" James said, raising his voice. "You keep your nasty comments to yourself. If you weren't so spiteful and ready to jump down my throat all the time, maybe you'd actually notice the nice things I do for you!"

She turned back to say something back, but at that moment, they heard the raised voices of the boys from the living room. James stalked out of the kitchen into the living room.

"Boys!" he yelled. "Knock it off!"

"Nate hit meeeee," whined Edward.

Nate promptly began yelling over him. "Edward called me a naughty word and took my man and-"

"I did not!" Edward yelled back. "You're a poop, Nate!"

James walked over to both of the boys and swatted them, causing them to scream even more. Alice came running out of the kitchen.

"Stop it, James! You don't need to hit them!" she yelled.

"If you didn't mollycoddle them so much, they wouldn't act like this," he yelled back.

"I don't mollycoddle them!" she shrieked back. Then, she burst into tears, covered her face with her hands, and ran from the room. She didn't run so fast, though, that James failed to notice her hands.

They were completely devoid of any jewelry.

He looked down at his own hand. There was the golden band he'd worn on his ring finger since the day he'd said his vows. _Why wouldn't she wear her wedding ring?_

Then he remembered their fight from last night, where she'd threatened to never wear it again unless he became deserving enough to be her husband.

James looked down at his wailing children. Was this what married life was really like?

Why was he so despairingly unhappy?

The room faded.

He was once again opening the front door to his house. As soon as he closed the door and set down his briefcase, children once again came rushing at him, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy!" A boy that was the spitting image of himself came running into the room, paused, turned and shouted, "Mommy, Daddy's home!" down the hallway, then came to hug James.

James looked down. There were more children, this time. A little redheaded toddler, a girl with straight brown hair, another redhead, only she was older, and the boy that looked like him. There was also another redhead sitting on the floor where she had been playing with the two girls currently attached to his legs.

"Hi Rosie, Lorena, Luke," he heard himself say. He looked at the redhead still sitting on the floor and smiled at her. "Hi, Ginny."

She smiled back. "Hi, Mistah Pottah."

James looked down and ruffled the black hair of the boy who looked like him. "Hi, Harry." Harry grinned, showing a mouth with a front tooth missing. "Hi Daddy," he said, a beauteous smile lighting up his face.

"James!"

There was only one person with that musical voice. James hardly wanted to look lest it be a bad dream, and yet there she was, standing in the entrance to the hallway.

Lily Evans. No, Lily _Potter_. James felt a smile light up his face. She was his wife. His wife! It was real, it really was . . .

Lily came towards him, smiling. She patted Harry, who ran off to play again, then placed her hands on James' shoulders, went up on tiptoe, and kissed him.

James' arms went around her waist, pulling her close to him. Oh, the bliss! She tasted so sweet to him, as if he at that moment was holding an angel in his arms instead of simply a woman.

Lily pulled away and looked up at him with a smile. "How was work?"

He grimaced. "Much the same."

A concerned look appeared on her face. "Really? Oh, I'm so sorry, James." She paused, then said, "I made your favorite dinner tonight."

James looked down at her with a smile. "Oh did you?"

"Yes," Lily said, smiling. "And I made it from scratch the Muggle way, so it had better be good!" A small frown appeared on her face as she contemplated the possible mistakes she could have made.

James could hardly bear to see her unhappy, and on an impulse, leaned down to kiss her again. "I'm sure it'll be fine, dear," he said.

Lily smiled up at him. "Let's go eat, then. Are you hungry?"

"Starving!"

"Good. Rosie, Ginny, Lorena, go wash your hands please. Harry! Wash up for dinner!" Lily walked over to Luke, scooped him up, and headed for the kitchen.

James stood there for a moment, watching Lily's hair sway on her back as she balanced Luke on her hip and walked away from him, straightening a pillow on the couch and picking up a rubber band from the floor on her way out of the room. He felt a surge of love for her in his heart, and followed her into the kitchen.

Lily put Luke in his booster seat and started to serve some food onto plates as the kids came running into the kitchen to sit down.

James leaned against the entryway to the kitchen, watching her. She wasn't as young as she had been at Hogwarts, but she was no less beautiful. A glitter on her hand caught his eye – a gold band with a diamond, set on either side with an emerald, and also a plain gold band. Her wedding rings.

And she was wearing them!

Lily set two plates full of food on the counter. "James, can you get those?" She looked over at him and paused, a questioning look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

James shook his head no, a soft smile on his face. "You're beautiful, Lily."

Lily blushed slightly and looked back to the plate of food she was dishing up, trying to hide a smile. "Goodness, James. You're in a bit of mood tonight." She glanced up at him from between her hair.

James smirked, walked past her, and grabbed the plates of the food from the counter to take them to the table. "Rosie, please sit up straight in your seat. Luke, stop pulling on the tablecloth." He turned around to get more plates to find Lily right behind him. She gave them to Lorena and Harry, then looked up at him, a meaningful look in her eyes.

"I love you, James."

James winked at her. Lily turned back to the kitchen counter. James looked down at Rosie, his little daughter, the spitting image of Lily except for her hazel eyes.

She smiled at him, the freckles on her face crinkling . . .

The room faded.

James opened his eyes. He sat up, his mind spinning wildly. Professor Slughorn was lecturing on the process of making the potion.

"James is awake!" somebody cried out. Professor Slughorn turned to him. "James! Perfect!" The class started talking wildly.

James looked at Lily, who was still sleeping. She looked so peaceful, the rise and fall of her chest showing her to be completely at rest. James couldn't help but look at her fingers where they were clasped on her stomach. No rings of any kind.

James looked down at his own hands. No rings. An inexplicable sadness and longing filled his chest.

_No! I've got to stop this!_ he thought. _I am not married. Not to Alice, not to Lily . . . it was all just a dream. _

He looked up at the familiar walls of the Potions classroom. _Just a dream_.

"Lily is awake!" announced Professor Slughorn. The class started to cheer.

When the cheers died down, Professor Slughorn addressed both of them. "Would either of you care to share your experiences?"

There was a pause. "No," said James. He didn't hear anything from Lily. She must have shaken her head, because after a second, the class booed.

"Quite alright, quite alright, didn't I tell you this would probably happen? Thank you, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, you may return to your seats."

James returned to his seat and slid into it, his emotions running crazily through his system. He didn't hear Professor Slughorn's words as he began to lecture again, but instead stole a look at Lily. She looked white as a sheet, as if she'd been through something terrible and had barely lived to tell the tale. Alice whispered something at her, to which Lily said something.

Then, all of a sudden, she looked up at James. Their eyes held for a moment, then she jerked her head away, looking even a bit more frightened.

James looked back at his desk, feeling slightly sick. If the look she gave him was any clue, she had not had a good dream about him.

The end of the class couldn't come soon enough for James. By the time he left, Lily was already gone with Alice. He didn't see her for the rest of the day.

When he finally went to bed, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**Author's Note – **Due to popular demand, I decided to write this companion to _Glimpses of the Future_. It's not quite the sequel that my reviewers asked for, but I hope you like it! I also decided to expand on the dreams that James had per other reviews that suggested I do so. Enjoy!

**Wackysocks**


	2. Chapter 2

**- **I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of the characters; all are properties of J.K. Rowlings.

_Flashes of the Future_

**Chapter 2**

James pushed around his eggs around on his plate. He didn't feel hungry at all, and yet he knew he should eat. His mother would say that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, or something dumb like that.

"Oi, James," Sirius said. "Why the long face?"

James ignored him. Sirius, knowing James well enough by now, left him alone.

James set his fork down. He couldn't eat any more, and he hated it. _All because of that stupid potion_, he thought. _What a way to be approaching the Christmas season – completely depressed and all moody like a flippin' girl._ Then, a conversation caught his ear from down the table.

"I'm sorry."

"But why? Can you at least tell me why, Lily? I thought everything was fine." That was Amos Diggory's voice.

James looked over to see Lily standing in front of Amos, twisting the edge of her scarf around her fingers. She still looked very pale, as if something was really troubling her.

"It _was_ fine, Amos, I just . . ." Lily looked down, biting her lip. "It has to be over. I . . . It's not the right thing for me, and it's just time to be done."

"But why? Can you at least tell me why so I know? Lily, don't walk away . . ."

James looked back down at his plate as Lily walked past him. So she had broken up with Amos. They had only been going out for two weeks or so. But she had abruptly ended it for some reason . . . maybe she still felt like he did. That stupid, _stupid_ potion.

Thankfully, the day passed quickly for James. He spent most of his classes staring in a daze at his desk or out his window, only snapping out of his daze long enough to answer a question if a teacher asked one of him. Even so, by dinnertime, his head was whirling and spinning again.

James sat down at the dinner table, feeling completely not hungry. The things he saw in the potion weighed heavily on his mind. If only he could tell somebody about them! Somebody who wouldn't make fun of him. Somebody who would know what he had gone through.

Well, there was only one other person who knew what he had gone through, but he hadn't ever been on very good terms with her.

Then, he saw a flash of red hair. He looked up just in time to see Lily leaving the Great Hall, wearing her heavy coat and her winter hat. She was going outside. Where she'd be alone.

James stood up, grabbed a breadstick from the table, shrugged on his coat, said goodbye to his friends, and left without giving them a chance to say anything back to him.

The dusky air was crisp and cold. Even if James hadn't noticed her footprints standing out from the snow on the ground, he would have known that head of red hair belonging to the person sitting on the bench by the lake anywhere he went. As he got closer to her, he saw her throw some bits of bread to the squid, which lazily plucked them off the surface of the lake and pulled them under.

He paused behind her and took a deep breath. _Alright, it's now or never. If she refuses to talk to me, I'll never bother her again_.

"Lily?"

Lily turned her head and patted the bench next to her, saying, "Come and sit down, James."

She hadn't even looked at him, and yet she had known his voice. It was almost like she was expecting him to be there. Surprised, but being careful not to show it, James walked over to sit next to her. Neither of them said anything for several moments.

After he could bear it no longer, James gathered his courage again and asked, "Will you talk to me about what happened when you dreamed yesterday?"

Lily didn't answer him, but she didn't need to. She had no idea how very clearly her emotions showed on her face – she didn't want to share her experiences at all.

He tried again. "Please, Lily. I know it'll be hard, and I'm not exactly your favorite person, but I have a feeling that talking about it will make both of us feel better. Is your head whirling like mine is?"

At this, Lily looked at him, then said reluctantly, "Yes, it is."

"Then will you talk to me?"

Lily paused, then nodded.

James let out the breath he had been holding in. "To make it easier, I think we should alternate scenes. All at once would be a little overwhelming."

Lily exhaled. "You go first," she said.

James nodded. After a few moments, he spoke. "I was Minister of Magic."

Lily raised her eyebrows.

James saw it and grimaced. "I had thrown myself wholeheartedly into my job. My life was work. I hardly saw my family anymore, and when I got home at night, there was no one there. I existed only to make money and work, like some sort of machine. Someone with no feelings and no heart." He shuddered, remembering the incessant onslaught of owls with notes and reports. "That was dreadful." He looked at her. Her turn now. Would she back out on him?

She took a deep breath and said, "I was alone. Living by myself. There was . . . no one. No one there for me. I was supporting myself, living, but it was more just _existing_. I had this terrible feeling of being all alone, with no one anywhere near me."

James whistled softly, and waited a second before starting again. "In the next scene, I was playing Quidditch. I was playing for England as their star Chaser. Everybody . . . everybody loved me. The cameras, the fans . . . someone was even wearing a James Potter t-shirt."

Lily almost laughed, but then checked herself.

"When I finally got time to myself after all the interviews and autographs, I had the feeling you did in your first scene – that sense of aloneness. I was the biggest celebrity there was, and I had nobody." He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, slid down the bench into a slouching position, and looked at her.

"In my second scene I was, I had been married to Amos Diggory."

James looked away for a moment, unconsciously clenching his jaw. _He so does not deserve her – this was one of her potential futures?_

"We . . . had gotten a divorce. I . . . I had . . . I was a single mother, with a three-year-old son." She swallowed. "I was struggling to support both of us, and I just remember regretting. Regretting my choice to marry him, because I had to pay for it." She closed her eyes.

Realization dawned on James. "So that's why you broke up with him this morning," he said.

She stared at him, shocked. "You heard about that?"

He gave her a patient look. "Lily, I was sitting two people down from you when you did it."

"Oh," she said blankly.

James looked back out at the lake. "In my third scene, I had married Alice Denim."

"Alice Denim? My best friend?"

"The very one. We had been married five years. I had a good job, we had two children. Two boys. Nate and Edward."

He closed his eyes. "It wasn't a happy marriage. We were always fighting. She was always crying. I was always leaving home to get away. Our boys fought constantly and wouldn't listen to her, so I had to discipline them. That made her cry and me feel upset. It was . . . it was just _awful_." James looked at Lily. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to talk to her again. She wouldn't even wear her wedding ring."

Lily smiled a watery smile, tears in her eyes.

"In my – sniff, deep breath – third scene, I . . ." Lily pressed her hands against her eyes.

James noticed her struggling. _I was a fool to make her do this. She's having a harder time of it than I am. _

She put her head up again. "I had been married to Remus."

James was shocked. "Remus Lupin? He married you? I thought," he abruptly closed his mouth. _Remus would never marry anyone, being the way he is. _

"It's okay, James, I know. He's a werewolf. I frankly am surprised I didn't see it sooner. Anyways . . . we hadn't been happy either. We had been fighting more than we had been happy. Then . . . he died fighting another werewolf at full moon. I-I was relieved, James. I w-was g-glad that I was f-free." Barely keeping control of herself, Lily looked at him.

James just stared at her, horrified. _She felt like that? _

Lily looked so remorseful that James expected her to break down any moment. "I'm sorry, James! We had b-been f-fighting so much and I-"

"It's fine," he interrupted her. He looked at the giant squid, pulled the breadstick out of his pocket, and tore it into pieces. They both stood up and walked to the water's edge. James threw the pieces into the water, and they both watched the squid snatch them one-by-one from the surface.

It was his turn, and the only scene left was the scene with her in it.

"My fourth scene was a happy one," he said, looking at her again. Her eyes were locked almost fearfully on his face. "It had you in it," he said.

Lily blushed and looked down.

"We were married," he continued softly. He felt like he was taking the biggest dare of his entire life, telling her this. "We . . . we were so happy, Lily. We had four children; Harry, Rose,"

"You had Rose in yours, too?" gasped Lily. Too late did she realize what she said, and she looked down, blushing again.

An unexpected thrill raced through James. _Her fourth scene was about him! And she knew who Rosie was, too! _He wanted to smile and laugh out loud, yet he contained himself and only raised his eyebrows. "Your fourth scene was about me."

"Who were the other two?" asked Lily, not looking at him.

She was changing the subject. After a pause, he spoke. "Lorena and Luke. I was Head of the Auror Department, and you were a Healer at St. Mungo's. Harry was 7, Rosie was 5, Lorena was 4 and Luke was 2." For a split second, James wondered why he knew this. Nothing had been mentioned about it in the scene. A split second later, he remembered memories that weren't previously his and dismissed them as aftereffects of that stupid potion.

With an effort, Lily looked at him. James just looked at her, and in her eyes, he saw recognition. Recognition and the teensiest bit of joy.

She spoke. "I was old. I was babysitting this little girl named Jennie. She . . . she was my granddaughter. Rosie, her mother, came to pick her up." She paused for a moment, and then said, "Rosie had your eyes, James."

James just looked at her, feeling again the strongest desire to laugh out loud and an odd desire to cry (which he most definitely didn't indulge). "I know," he said. "Other than that she looked just like you." _She knew Rosie, their beautiful daughter! _Part of James immediately missed Rosie for the simple fact that when she had existed in the potion, she had been something that he and Lily shared.

Emotions flickered and flashed over Lily's face, too fast for James to identify. "We . . . were talking about a family reunion. Harry's wife was going to have her second child – she was some girl named Ginny."

"Ginny?" exclaimed James incredulously. _He looked at the redhead still sitting on the floor and smiled at her. "Hi, Ginny."_

_She smiled back. "Hi, Mistah Pottah."_

"He married Ginny? She was at our house playing with Rosie and Lorena when I got home." Suddenly James realized the absurdity of what he was saying and looked away from her. They were talking about an imaginary child that didn't exist. How ludicrous!

"Then you came home, James."

He quickly looked back at her.

"You were old, too," said Lily.

"Well I would think so," he said with a smile.

"You had gray hair, several wrinkles, and nowhere near the studsy body you have now."

At this James laughed. So Lily thought he looked . . . attractive. That comment had been completely unexpected. "Think I'm studsy, do you Evans?"

Lily blushed and looked down.

James chuckled, then became serious again. "What did I do?"

An scared expression came onto her face. "You . . . you . . . you just . . ."

James took a leap of faith. "Lily, in the dream, did I love you?"

Lily put her head in her hands and sobbed. James stepped forward and took the weeping girl in his arms, holding her close. She felt exactly like she had in the dream, as if she was made to be held by him. He waited until she stopped crying, then looked down at her and said, "You didn't answer me." He knew he was pushing her, but he just had to know.

Lily closed her eyes. "Yes, James. You loved me. You said it yourself."

"And you?" he whispered.

Lily looked like she wanted to die. "I . . ."

"Never mind, Lily, we've said enough," he said. _She had! She had loved him! _It took all he could to keep his emotions inside of him. "Don't you feel better, though, now that you've talked about it?" It was true. His head felt wonderfully calm.

"Yes," she said slowly. James kept an arm around her and began walking her back to the castle. _She loved me!_ Yes, it was only a dream, but still!

"I certainly understand now why people are very loath to talk about their experiences," Lily said.

James was too distracted to give any sort of coherent answer. "Mmhm."

They were almost at the castle doors when James stopped. _Here it goes_, he thought. _Now or never. _He put both his hands on Lily's upper arms and looked into her eyes. "Will you go out with me?" he asked.

Lily let out a short laugh and smiled at him. "Yes," she said.

James hugged her again, too happy to speak, and for several moments they just stood there holding each other outside the castle doors.

But there was one other thing James wanted to know. One other similarity that might have existed in both his dream and hers . . .

"Lily?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him.

"Did I kiss you in your dream?"

Lily's face went the reddest he had ever seen it, which was more than answer enough for him. James dropped one of his arms and began walking her into the castle again, smiling. He had found out all he had wanted to know. She had dreamed about him. She had loved him. And he had kissed her, in _her _dream as well as his own. And by the looks of her face, which carried no angry expression, she hadn't minded a whole lot.

Right before they reached the Fat Lady's corridor, James stopped her. "You go in first," he said. "We'll tell everyone tomorrow."

Lily just looked up at him, then asked quietly, "Why didn't you kiss me outside?"

James raised his eyebrows, shocked. He had not been expecting that one. "I've been asking you for _years_ to go out with me. You finally say yes. I'm not pushing whatever luck I seem to have – I'll earn it."

Lily let out a giggle and tilted her head up. "You just have, James," she said.

James hesitated, then saw she was serious and lowered his head to hers.

It felt just like the dream to him, only better, because he knew for sure now that it really was real and not just a dream that would fade at any moment. He pulled away.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime," he whispered back.

Lily clapped both hands over her mouth to keep from laughing, the first time he had ever seen her think one of his jokes was that funny.

"Go," he said, "I'll see you in the morning." With a last glance at him, she went down the corridor and into the common room.

James watched her go, so happy he could burst. It was the happiest he had felt for a long time.

And it was all because of that blessed, blessed potion.

thEnd

**Author's Note **– I really enjoyed writing this fanfic, basically _Glimpses of the Future_ from James' point of view. I learned more about myself as a writer and also got to delve into what James saw when he took _Video Futurum_. However, I was sadly disappointed by the amount of reviews that I got. Seriously – one hundred hits and only one review? Very, very sad.

Please review! I am thinking of doing _Glances of the Future_ from James' point of view as well, but if nobody liked this one then I probably won't.

Wackysocks


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